The US based international magazine hailed Ms Adichie, 37, as a “creator of characters”. Citing her viral TEDxEuston talk, “We Should All Be Feminists,” Time says, she found her voice as “cultural critic”.

Time wrote that “it would have taken a long time to raise awareness about the girls taken by Boko Haram without her using her platform as a former Minister of Education.” Moreover, according to Time, “it has been a year, and the girls haven’t been rescued, but she has made a difference by speaking about it. Not just speaking but shouting. I know some people will say she is too loudmouthed. The loud mouth is needed. People hear it.”

Also listed with the four Nigerians are three other Africans as follows: Sudanese aid worker Mustafa Hassan, Liberia’s Ebola-fighting doctor Jerry Brown and Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi.